Giant New Look Spagnuolo and Plaxico Out: Sherridan and ?? to Step in

The two big changes coming into this season for the Giants are the loss of Plaxico and the change in defensive coordinators.  Plaxico is gone, leaving the Giants with a big hole to fill for a number 1 receiver for Eli.  Hakeem Nicks could be this option, but I look for the Giants to do a lot of things to help out not only Nicks, but their running game as well.  I think the Giants will use a lot of spread formation with 4 and 5 receiver sets.  They have more than enough WR’s on their roster to make this possible, and could even use Boss spread wide as the 4^th receiver.  By spreading the field, the Giants will force the defense to cover each man, along with taking guys out of the box.  This will help with the running game.  Jacobs could be in the backfield a lot by himself this year without his lead blocker Hedgecock in some situations.  The quick passes should be a very big part of the Giants offense this year, incorporated in WR screen and short 3 step drops by Eli getting the ball out quicker than most seasons.  As I stated earlier, I see the Giants having 2 or 3 guys with 50 catches each, as nobody on the roster is capable of having that 80 plus catch season.  Jacobs if healthy will run for around 1200 yards and 10-12 touchdowns.

Spagnuolo has left to become the head coach of the Rams, and his defensive coordinator position was given to Bill Sheridan.  Sheridan has been the linebackers coach for the Giants since 2005.  He already has come out publically and stated he will not be changing that much of the schemes that were placed in while Spagnuolo was the D.  The two things he looks to do differently this season is having less zone blitz packages, along with coaching from the box and not the sidelines as Spags has done in recent years.  I am a big fan of  less zone packages as the Giants defensive line is made up of pass rushing prototypes.  Yes, Tuck and Osi can be dropped into coverage because of their athleticism, but this takes away from their best attribute which is rushing the passer.  As far as coaching from the box goes there are advantages and disadvantages.  The biggest advantage is he will be able to see the entire play unfold from up in the box.  He does not get this opportunity when on the sidelines, and has to rely on the still pictures taken.  Some coaches are more comfortable doing this, and only time will tell if this is the best way to go about.  The big negative I see is the lack of interaction with the players.  Players seem to play harder for someone they feel connected too, and without Sheridan on the sidelines this could be lacking for the Giants D.  The big positive for Sheridan is he now has new “toys” to play with.  With the addition of Rocky Bernard, Chris Canty and Michael Boley, along with the return of Osi Umenyiora, Sheridan has a lot of pieces that he can put in the right spots to be one of the best defensive units in the league.